Tajik President's Son Marries Magnate's Daughter

DUSHANBE -- Rustami Emomali, the eldest son of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, married the daughter of the owner of the Shirin (Sweet) chocolate factory on June 28.

Guests at the event said the wedding party held at the presidential summer house in the Varzob Mountains -- some 40 kilometers north of the Tajik capital -- was modest.

Rahmon decreed two years ago that all wedding celebrations -- along with other parties -- in Tajikistan had to have fewer than 200 guests and must not be outrageously expensive. Rahmon said he had determined that many Tajiks were holding extravagant wedding parties that they could not afford but felt societal pressure to hold.

The marriage was the first in Rahmon's large family. It was reported that in lieu of holding an expensive wedding he used the money to buy supplies for two orphanages.

Tajik TV showed Rahmon and other family members visiting two orphanages in Dushanbe and delivering goods to them.

Rahmon has nine children, including seven daughters.

Rustami Emomali is 21 years old, a student at the Diplomatic Academy in Moscow, and plays for the Istiqlol soccer team, which is challenging for the top spot in the first Tajik league.